Daniel Cooley Elementary School

Daniel Cooley Elementary may no longer exist, but that doesn’t mean it’s forgotten.

Built in the 1890s, Cooley was named after Daniel Denton Cooley, a land developer and businessman regarded as “the father of the Heights.” He also was the grandfather of famed heart surgeon Denton Cooley.

A school with that much history is bound to have plenty of memories associated with it. Yet one event 50 years ago probably sticks out whether you attended school there or not.

That was The Day Cooley Elementary Burned.

Now, neighborhood fires tend to bring everyone out of the house to catch all the action. When the building ablaze happens to be a 19th century neighborhood landmark, well, then it becomes a spectacle.

Just after noon on Saturday, Feb. 11, 1961, smoke started billowing from the school, located at West 17th and Rutland. The smoke and flames quickly spread through the halls and stairwells of the building and before too long, much of it was up in flames.

From the next day’s Houston Post:

A roofer, Tom Annis, 26, said he was shingling the north peak of the roof when a child called up and said the building was afire.

Annis said he saw smoke coming from two vents where the new and old wings join. He and two other workers left that roof and went onto the flat roof of the new wing to await the firemen.

Looking at the photos from that day it’s easy to see the danger Houston firefighters faced. In fact, seven firefighters were injured in the four-alarm fire. Two of the men hurt — Capt. Carl P. Kent and C.R. Kent — were brothers.

Spectators — supposedly totaling 2,000 according to the Houston Chronicle or 4,000 if you read the Post — came out in droves. Maybe you were one of them!

Our clip files fail to mention a definite cause, but in 1962 the Post noted that arson was suspected. No charges were ever filed though.

Students from Cooley were sent to nearby Barrick, Love, Helms, Field and Harvard schools until the school was rebuilt with a more modern look a year later. Against the neighborhood’s wishes, HISD closed the school in 1980. It later became the headquarters for the district’s Alternative Certification Program.

The final nail in the coffin for Cooley Elementary came late last year when the building was demolished to make way for residences.

Photo: Chronicle file

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Looking up Rutland toward Cooley Elementary.

Looking up Rutland toward Cooley Elementary.

Photo: Chronicle file

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Arrow shows firefighter before being injured while battling blaze at Cooley Elementary.

Arrow shows firefighter before being injured while battling blaze at Cooley Elementary.